You and Me
by keikopanda102
Summary: It all comes down to moving one foot in front of the other and supporting the one beside you who's helping you stay standing.


"Hey. C'mon. You and me. It's just us now."

Sasuke's body is heavy, or maybe it was just the weight of his own arms, struggling to keep the Uchiha standing. He barely noticed that Sasuke was moving on his own, working just as hard to keep Naruto upright along with him. They were depleted beyond measure, so exhausted they could easily be dreaming their slow progress through the unknown dimension their battle ended in.

"Don't pass out, Naruto," Sasuke murmurs, tightening his hold onto Naruto's jacket, clenching his fingers around the fabric like it might help if the blond started to fall or it might make him suddenly strong enough to have any chance of catching him.

"Tell that to yourself."

"I'm not the one breathing like the air's going to run out."

"Says the guy who can barely open his eyes. Do you even know which direction we're heading?"

"No. I'm trusting _you_ to get us there. We'll probably end up forty miles in the other direction."

"Heh. I missed you, Bastard."

"Hn."

"Come on, admit you missed me too. There's no one around to hear it. It's just you and me."

"Concentrate on walking straight, idiot."

Naruto starts to laugh but it turns into a cough. They stop and Sasuke pulls strength from places he didn't know he had to keep them upright as Naruto leans against him and breathes deep and heavy. He takes a moment to rest his head on Sasuke's shoulder, his chest rising and falling in time to his steady heartbeat.

Slowly, Naruto takes a shaky step forward. Sasuke releases the breath he hadn't known he was holding.

Naruto's feet are heavy, his energy gone until there's almost none left, and a wound around his ribs is making it hard to breathe. But he can't stop smiling. They won, it's over, they beat her and lived, and now Sasuke's helping him walk back to the place they came in, hoping beyond hope that Sakura and Kakashi and anyone else will be there to get them back to their world. Sasuke's arm is draped around his shoulder while the other one holds up his other side. He's got his arms wrapped around Sasuke, too, keeping him on his feet because he can tell that every time he puts pressure on his left leg he almost stops.

They don't say anything for a while, but Naruto can only be quiet for so long.

"What are you going to do now, Sasuke?"

"We're going to get out of here and have Sakura heal us."

'That's not what I meant," Naruto grunts. He's pretty sure Sasuke knew that. Sasuke doesn't reply.

They keep moving, one unsteady step after the other. No rests, no time to stop and catch their breath, they lean on each other and keep going. Their trust is implicit in the way Naruto lets his body hang off of Sasuke's, and the way Sasuke allows Naruto to guide, to keep them moving in the direction they need to go.

it reminds Naruto of their childhood, their first mission and the training in the trees where neither of them stopped until they were all worn out and both had reached the top. How Sasuke had tried to walk back by himself but stumbled and Naruto found that when he leant against him, together they could make it. Together they would be alright.

"What about your team?" he asks, barely a huff of air left for his voice to stand on. Even Sasuke's breathing has grown heavy.

"What about them?" he manages to reply.

"Are you going to stay with them and-"

"I'm coming back to Konoha," Sasuke interrupts, just to get Naruto to shut up, "so stop asking."

Naruto grins, Sasuke can tell without needing his eyes to see it.

"Sakura will be happy," he says finally.

Sasuke wonders how stupid Naruto can really be.

Naruto keeps thinking he won't make it another five steps, that the two of them will surely pass out before they get back, that he isn't strong enough to keep going. But they do keep going, carrying and supporting each other, taking up more weight and pressure if the other can't, lifting one foot after the other without rest because Naruto is damn sure that if Sasuke can keep going, he can too.

"It's just you and me," he huffs, smiling despite the pain each breath causes, the ache in his legs and the burning of every muscle in his body. He takes a shaky step forward.

"Yeah," Sasuke breathes, and they take the next step together.


End file.
